Breaking Point
by Flying Jay
Summary: Robin and the team are kidnapped by a mysterious man who isnt who he appears. Robin is brainwashed! Please read and review. Hurt Robin! This story is being revised.
1. Chapter 1

**First fanfiction! Sorry if it's terrible.**

Aqualad entered a dark room of his mountain home. Or more like his second home, the ocean would always be his first. He flicked on the light to get a better look of the unused room. Or so he thought. The bright glow grew from a single lamp hanging from the ceiling like a miniature sun. The dark skinned Atlantian of 16 years was surprised when he noticed Robin there also. The 13 year old was huddled in a ball, in the darkest corner of the room. The light's reach struggled to touch the young boy and he melted into the shadows perfectly.

"Robin?" Aqualad asked. Confusion and concern touched his voice gently. Robin blinked a few times, although Aqualad couldn't see it under his dark shades.

"Yes?" Robin asked. His voice was scratchy and worn. He seemed to flinch back from Aqualad as they spoke; he didn't want to be noticed.

"What are you doing here? Are you all right?" Aqualad asked, taking a few steps towards the huddled form on the ground.

"I'm fine," he insisted, but seemed to catch Aqualads disbelieving look because he added "I'm just hiding."

"Hiding?" Aqualad repeated. "May I ask from what?" His voice was clearly building up worry, though the unmistakeble hint of curiosity was planted too.

"Life"

"I fail to understand," he confessed. The older had been walking closer. He could now see the despair and pain etched in the younger boys face.

"It's just too much sometimes Kaldur; don't you ever feel like that? Sometimes you just want to hide away and pray that time stops and life can't find you hiding and won't drag you out with its claws and tear you to pieces!" Aqualad shuddered a little at Robin's description but refused to back away or show any other signs of discomfort.

"Robin what happened, what's wrong?" he demanded. He hated to see his friend, no brother, like this. He was completely the opposite from how he normally was. Robin was the fun loving; laughing, younger brother that there little 'family' loved. But this? This was what happened when someone snapped a bird's wing!

"Nothing. I don't want to talk!" he said, suddenly sounding stubborn and a little angered.

"So instead you are going to let it build up to the point where you are hiding in a dark room and praying that no one finds you?" Aqualad asked, his eyebrows arching.

"No. I mean yes. I-I don't know" he answered, sounding torn.

"You need to tell someone something Robin! If not about this then at least tell us your real name. You tell us nothing about yourself." Aqualad pressed. Normally he would have left by now, having taken the hints, but the 13 year old was near breaking point and obviously distraught. Robin took a deep breath and suddenly without warning, burst into tears.

"They died Kaldur! And I watched and did nothing. And now every night they come back and they die again and again and I can't take it anymore" he sobbed, pulling his knees tighter. Aqualad was taken aback by this outburst. But soon came to his senses and put an arm around his friend.

"Who?" he asked "Who died? What happened?"

"My parents! They fell and I- I couldn't- I didn't- I watched as they smashed to the floor. There was so much blood and their necks broke and their arms and legs and everything. It was horrible. And now I have nightmares about it almost every night." Robin let out a loud sob as he tried to control himself again. Aqualad was stunned. Was this why Robin was so withdrawn about personnel stuff? Was this what had happened to their families little brother?

"How old were you?" Aqualad heard himself choke out past the shock of this turn.

"9" was all Robin whispered. Suddenly Aqualad was hugging him. Strong arms twisted around the younger boys waist as he turned his body so what the little bird was half on his lap. He let the crying boy's face rest on his chest as tears soaked into his shirt.

"I am so sorry Robin, so sorry."


	2. Chapter 2

**I wasn't really planning to add to this but my new idea just fit into it so enjoy. And please Review. Thanks to those who have.**

He watched as the two people he loved most fell to their deaths. Her hand reached up to his but he was too shocked to take it. His eyes widened as they fell. For him, it took hours for their bodies to fly to the ground and smash into the cold floor. Time was stopped as deafening silence took hold of the tent. Then a gasp, a scream. Everything was chaos. But he saw and heard none of it. The only thing he could grasp was that his parents were lying in their own blood. The aroma of its metallic stench was reaching him even from the distance he was at. There broken necks and limbs pressed against tearing skin. Robin's parents were dead.

Robin woke up screaming. His hand flew to his mouth to try to muffle the noise, although there wasn't really a point in doing so. If anyone could hear him then they would have come by now. Luckily no one could. Taking deep breaths he lowered his hand to let it rest on damp covers. He was covered in sweat and tears (not that he would admit he had been crying.) Robin sighed and climbed out of his bed. He couldn't go back to sleep now, not if he didn't want to see his parents die again. So instead he walked over to his bathroom and leant on the sink. His reflection glared back at him. Robin was small for his age, which wasn't helped by the face he only hung out with 16 and 15 year olds. He had scruffy raven hair and bright blue eyes that were, even now, hidden by dark shades. As always his eyes were constantly shielded on his visits to Mt. Justice. And since Batman was away on a mission for a week he was stuck there until his mentor got back.

_-Flashback-_

_Robin, now Dick Grayson, pouted as he began to put some clothes in a small black bag. _

_ "Why can't I just stay here?" he asked for the millionth time_

_ "You should spend time with actual kids instead of just Alfred and me." Bruce answered, who was trying to hide a smirk at his annoyed ward. _

_ "I do. For seven hours a day from Monday to Friday." Dick argued._

_ "Yet you have no friends at school except Barbara." Bruce pointed out. Dick held back a glare. _

_ "Who else do I need?" _

_ "Dick, I just want you to have a life outside being Robin. Being locked up here doing nothing but training and homework is not a life. You need friends, whether you admit it or not."His voice came out stern, leaving no room for argument. Dick finally sighed in defeat and finished packing his bag._

_-End Flashback-_

Robin let out a huff at the memory. "Ever since I came here I'm having constant nightmares and even had a break down in front of Aqualad. If that's what you meant, then I guess I'm doing a good job." He muttered. He studied his reflection for a while more, taking in the dark bags that were becoming more and more harder to hide and his pale sweaty skin. All in all he looked terrible. The large scar that cut around his eyes to slice his nose and cheeks didn't help either. This was his still healing battle wound from the mission the team had went on a few days before he was forced to stay at Mt. Justice for a week. (Not that he didn't like it here it was just that Megan was always so peppy and Conner was always so…not. The fact that they were completely in love with each other didn't help at all.) He had been lucky though. Everyone on the team had been injected with a drug but only his, apparently, had taken no effect. Mrs. Martian and Aqualad had only adopted a fever for a few hours. Artemis had become delirious and had been screaming her head off for hours due to hallucinations. Kid Flash and Superboy had no energy for two days. Robin frowned at the thought. Thankfully everyone was great now….or so he thought.

Robin sat at the kitchen table, moving cereal around his bowl randomly. He hardly ever ate anymore. He could feel Megan's eyes burning into the back of his head but didn't say anything. He knew she had noticed his lack of appetite but he also knew that she wouldn't say anything. In front of him was Wally, as always inhaling food at a dangerous rate. His best friends had also notice how down Robin had been but he too wouldn't say anything. Other than those two and Aqualad no one else noticed anything. It was actually a little ironic. They were supposed to be a secret, under the radar team. They were supposed to find out information and notice if things were odd. Yet they couldn't even tell that there was something wrong with their own teammate.

"Good morning" Aqualad's voice filled the kitchen, pulling Robin out of his thoughts. His eyes went down to the soggy cereal. He had been avoiding Aqualad all day yesterday. Embarrassment flooded through his every time he saw the older boy. He had been such a stupid crybaby when his lack of sleep and dreams had finally overwhelmed him. And now Aqualad probably though he was just a weak little kid.

"Robin? Robin?" Aqualad repeated, a touch if irritation in his words.

"Sorry, what?" Robin asked, looking up at Aqualad.

"I said that Black Canary is going to give us a mission. Are you coming?"

"Yeah, let's go." Robin answered, smiling as he flew out the room.

**So what do you think? Good? Bad?**


	3. Chapter 3

Robin grinned as Mrs. Martian's ship steadily rose into the air. If he couldn't properly fly then this was the third best thing. The second was, of course, flipping through the air using his grappling hook and jumping off incredibly tall buildings. Even Batman shook his head at some of the stunts that Robin could pull off.

"Remember, this is a stealth mission. We only observe to make sure there is nothing suspicious going on." Aqualad's voice, again, pulled him away from his thoughts. Was it just him or was Aqualad talking more? Or maybe Robin was just thinking more…..

"Yeah, because that worked so well last time." Kid Flash said sarcastically. Artemis glared at him but said nothing.

"We will make sure not to repeat our mistakes." Aqualad answered him sternly before turning back around in his seat. _Everyone is so not feeling the aster._

-Two hours later-

_"Again KF? Seriously?"_ Robin asked via mind link, his voice two octaves higher due to extreme annoyance. As he did his foot came through the air to kick a huge man as thick as tree trunk square in the chest. Using the man as a leverage his other foot came down on his nose. A loud cracking came as well as the squish of blood. Robin's enemy dropped like a stone in water.

"_You're blaming this one on me? Artemis was the one who was about to shoot him, not me!"_ Kid Flash argued as he tried to take away as many guns as he could from the group of men the team was facing.

"_You didn't have to throw her into the lake." _Superboy growled, although everyone could pick up the hints of amusement in his voice. The clone was busy throwing men through the air and letting their heads crack against the walls. He had found out exactly how to do this without causing too much damage only a few weeks ago. He found it a productive way to knock out opponents.

"_Umm yeah well that was just the moment."_Kid Flash thought awkwardly

"_When this is over I am going to-" _But what Artemis was going to do to the doomed speedster was never determined since at that moment she was stopped as an explosion shook the building they were standing in. The men they were fighting, the ones who had managed to stay conscious, gave each other frightened looks as windows shattered. The trembling that was sent through the floor and up their legs was worse than an earthquake. Bright white light lit up the sky as the occupants of the room collapsed along with half the ceiling and walls.

"_Is everyone okay?" _Aqualad's voice was the first to break into their minds.

"_Yep"_

"_Fine here"_

_Yes"_

"_Great mister fish man"_ A few seconds of silence then:

"_Robin?" _Silence.

"_Robin? Answer me" _Aqualad tried again, his voice sounding desperate. All around him his teammates were pulling themselves out of rubble. Coughs and moans could be heard around the room but Robin's answer did not come. The enemies who had survived and who were still conscious were soon delivered kicks to the temple by a quick yellow clad teenager.

"_He isn't in the mind link! He is either unconscious or…." _The worry filled silence was enough to answer the sentence.

"_No. He'll be fine. He's stronger then you guys think." _Artemis's voice, surprising all, echoed through the team's mind, confident and sure. A few nods were given in agreement, lit up by the fire outside. All five teenagers set out to look for their youngest teammate. Worry was the dominant emotion that ran through all their minds.

"Please, be okay Robin,"a whispered voice of a Martian cut through the air, letting out all the pent up thoughts and emotions.

"Found him!" Kid Flash's voice cut through the still falling dust and dirty air this time. He was pulling very large pieces of ceiling and wall off of his fallen comrade. "R-Robin?" he asked, voice shaky as the others joined him.

"It would seem our friend was protecting _him_ from the falling ceiling. "Aqualad said, pointing to an unconscious man. "The ceiling and wall are missing the most from this part, along with a few lights." He glanced at Robin, who was covered with scratches from glass and bruises and brakes from the fallen building. The man on the other hand only had a few bruises on his face.

"He didn't deserve Robin's protection." Superboy growled as Kid Flash's arms tightened around his best friend.

"H-He didn't deserve to die either." The strained voice of Robin washed over them, soothing worry and anger. He was clearly in pain, but at least the little bird was alive. "Wall was going to fall on his head if I hadn't-" his sentence was cut off by a fit of coughing that shook his body. He tried to withdraw into himself, hands wrapping around his chest.

"Robin! Are you okay?" Kid Flash asked, unable to keep out the emotion in his voice. Robin nodded pitifully. Before any further conversation could be continued a voice broke into the air as heavy as the building had.

"You are all so cute. A true family. Funny how you were all so worried about Robin you didn't even notice me come in." Artemis swore a series of colorful words as a man stepped into the light. He was tall with a thin yet muscular body. His face was long and bony with skin that seemed oddly stretched and tightly drawn. His nose stood out crookedly and dark brown eyes were hidden under thick locks of mud colored hair. He smirked at the team as if them being there was part of some sort of a joke.

The team made a protective circle around Kid Flash. He was still holding their injured 'little brother', who was fighting his way through the pain and into complete consciousness. All of them could see it was a battle already lost.

"_Go to sleep Robin."_ Megan thought to him gently. _"We can handle him."_ Shockingly he obeyed almost willingly. Fear gripped her tightly. Robin had never given into unconsciousness that easily. Even when he had been shot that one time! He must be badly injured or at least in a lot of pain. The team's new opponent broke into her worried thoughts.

"Oh do not worry. There is absolutely no need for that." He said, moving his hands in a soothing gesture.

"Who are you?" Mrs. Martian asked, her voice as fierce as she could make it.

"Don't you remember me?" he asked as if insulted. "Oh well, I can't say I'm surprised. You weren't in top condition when we last met to say the least."

"What are you talking about?" She asked but was cut off by a fitting cough that caused her to double over, hands over mouth. The others all copied her as the air in the room became heavier and harder to breath as it tore at their lungs. The last thing they heard before darkness took them over was hysterical laughter muffled by a gas mask.

**So what do you think? Please review. I love reviews. Tell me if you have any ideas or constructive criticism or compliments (my favorite.) More to come soon**


	4. Chapter 4

Kid Flash opened his eyes to reveal a sight he really didn't like. Mrs. Martian was strapped to a cold gray concrete wall with torches blazing next to her. The fire was barely failing at its attempts to lick her green skin. Superboy was next to her and was also strapped to a wall only instead of torches torturing him, he got a faintly glowing green rock tied to his hands and feet. Artemis and Kid Flash were both in a cold metal cage. Sharp pains traveled up the speedster's leg, telling him that they were broken.

"Well isn't this just great?" Artemis asked sarcastically as she began to pull at the cold metal bars. Kid Flash let out a small whimper as he tried to straighten up into a better position. He pretended not to notice Artemis hide a worried look as he cast another glance around the concrete cell they were imprisoned in. There were no windows in the large room and only one small door.

"Where are Robin and Aqualad?" he asked the archer next to him.

"Do I look like I know?" she snapped at him, feeling a little guilty as he just shook his head instead of giving her a snarky response. Laughter suddenly echoed around the room, causing the four of them to jump out of their skins. A man walked out of the shadows, his overgrown brown hair and crooked nose looked even more familiar to them now than it did before. Who was he?

"Dude, will you stop doing that? You're as bad as Robin." Kid Flash snapped at their kidnapper, who looked thoroughly amused by the words.

"Does Flash Boy miss his little bird?" he cackled as if he actually wanted to get a broken nose in the near future. In fact the trapped teen made a pledge to do exactly that as soon as he was out of this cage.

"It's Kid Flash and-" he was cut off by Superboy, who looked about ready to join Mrs. Martian in her unconscious state.

"Where….Where are Aqualad and Robin?"

"Glad you asked." The bad guy let out a long pelt of laughter before adding. "Don't worry. They are going to be just fine….or at least Aqualad will be if he plays his cards right." He seemed to think this hysterical and let out a very long cascade of laughter. It tore through the teammates painfully.

"Who _are_ you?" Artemis finally asked.

"I am The Chuckler" The cackling man managed to choke out in between giggles.

"Huh. Fits quite nicely." Kid Flash muttered as he glared at The Chuckler fiercely. The Chuckler ignored him and instead turned away and left, leaving a trail of echoes. Superboy, Mrs. Martian, Kid Flash and Artemis were all thinking the same thing: What was going to happen to Robin and Aqualad?

The first thought that entered Aqualad's mind when the solid black lifted from his eyes was Robin. Was he okay? He looked badly injured. And he was so young and human. The Atlantian felt guilty for thinking that, but it was true. He shook his head as if to clear it of the guilty feelings and inaccurate thoughts. Robin wasn't just a young human. He was strong and talented, above all the other teammates. It was amazing that the young boy had been through so much and was still able to laugh and joke all the time. But enough of thinking about Robin, it was time to help him now. Aqualad forced himself to his knees and uncovered the surroundings. He was in a very similar room as Kid Flash and the others, not that he was aware of that fact. He and Robin were in a silver cage with thin but strong metal poles boxing them in at all angles, even the floor. Awkwardly Aqualad walked over to Robin, trying not to trip on the poles that covered the floor. The acrobat was crumpled on the floor. He was still bleeding from his forehead, the rest of his body covered in fresh scratches and dried blood. His left leg was definitely broken and sore looking yellow and purple marks covered most of his pale skin. The boy looked even worse than before.

"Robin?" Aqualad asked, pulling him half into his lap. Robin's lips were a faint blue, which alerted the leader to how cold it was in the room. Even for him, the Atlantien who was used to frigid waters and icy temperatures was shivering faintly. Robin must have been absolutely freezing, especially in his injured state. "Robin?" he repeated, his voice coming out stern but a little afraid.

"Kaldur?" Robin asked, his voice weak but stronger then when he had first been injured.

"Yes. I am here Robin." Aqualad soothed

"It's s-so co-cold. Where are w-w-we?"

"We are in a cage, captured by the enemy." He answered, regretting the news he had to deliver to the hurt hero.

"W-what ha-happened?" Robin asked, vibrating from the cold as much as Kid Flash did when he was on a sugar high.

"I do not know." Aqualad said, hating the defeat in his voice

"W-what about the others?" Robin asked. He sounded like he was trying to make his voice stronger and to stop stuttering.

"I am sure they will find us." Aqualad tried to sooth again "You should sleep." He added, although he wasn't sure is that was a good idea or not. What if Robin had a concussion?

"What?" Robin sounded horrified by the idea. He was a true bat. "W-Why? How w-will that h-h-help?"

"I just do not want you to hurt yourself even more." Aqualad tried to reason with him, to no avail.

"Hurt myself? W-what's that s-s-s-supposed to m-mean?" he snapped. The shivering and stuttering took most of the snappy sting out of his words but the point got across all the same.

"I do not want to argue with you about this." Aqualad tried again. Robin looked so small and fragile as he attempted to sit and failed miserably. His eyes were tuned to a glare under the mask, lips in a straight line. But the look of determination and anger was softened by the weariness and pain. "I just-"

"You d-don't think I c-c-can handle this? You thi-think I am w-w-weak? You think I'm just another w-w-wannabe super-hero without a ch-chance? Y-you think-" It was Robin's turn to be cut off this time.

"No. I have never said that or thought that. I just want you to be out of harm's way! I cannot lose my little brother!" A muted surprise took over the two at Aqualad's words. Suddenly and without warning Robin lunged at Aqualad. The elder tensed, ready to be punched for the way he babied Robin when suddenly he felt weak, wiry arms wrap around his neck. Robin's head buried itself into Aqualad's chest as he hugged his leader.

"Thanks Kaldur." Robin said with his voice muffled. A laugh ruined the moment suddenly.

"It's just so cute. You guys could be a great TV show, I swear!" a deep mocking voice erupted around the room, circulating from a figure that was pulling away from the shadows. Robin pulled away quickly, wincing as his hand went to his ribs. Aqualad added broken ribs to the growing list of injuries Robin had encountered.

"Who are you?" Aqualad asked, moving as if to shield Robin, who was leaning on the bars.

"I already explained this to your friends! Don't you have a physic connection or something?" The man laughed. Was that supposed to be funny? "I am The Chuckler!"

"C-c-creative much? H-h-hey wait! W-where are our f-f-friends?" Robin stuttered. Aqualad glanced at him. In the last few minutes Robin had somehow turned even paler and his lips were bluer.

"Don't worry little bird. Your friends aren't the ones you need to worry about."

"What do you mean?" Aqualad asked before Robin could. Even talking seemed too much for the boy.

"I'll show you." The Chuckled soothed, laughing his head off as soon as the words had left his lips. He suddenly pulled out a silver key and inserted it in the small hole that was set at the very top of the cage. A few metal poles fell away to crash to the floor. Almost instinctively Aqualad raced up to the enemy, a look of hatred and vengeance on his face. The Chuckler did what his name told him to do. And suddenly the laughter was filling every cell inside Aqualad, filling him to the brim. It hurt his head as the laughter pounded with a hammer. Aqualad let out a cry and fell to the floor, clutching his head. Blackness was pulled down and hands clamped over his ears but the laughter still went on and on and on…..

Aqualad jumped up as a loud clanging erupted and chased away the last of the painful laughter. The Chuckler was giggling on the other side of the cage. He was playing with something in his hands. What was it? The key? No….it was a syringe! Aqualad turned to Robin in time to see the little bird look up at his big brother and drop to the floor.

**So what do you think? Did I drone on a bit? Was it too long? Good? Bad? Please tell me! And don't worry. Robin will not die….yet.**

**Please review! The more people that review the more I get happy and the more I get ideas and then the more I update.**


	5. Chapter 5

Aqualad instinctively ran over to Robin, but only managed to fall to the ground as his bare foot caught a bar on the ground. His head smashed painfully into another of the metal cylinders. He could hear The Chuckler laughing his head off but pushed the noise into the background. His normally calm silver eyes were locked on Robin with flames of panic in them. The young human was convulsing violently, his breathing coming out in painful gasps. The sound of small whimpers could be heard for a few seconds, followed by a long and agonized scream that shook the whole room.

"Robin!" Aqualad cried as he finally managed to half drag and half run to his fallen comrade. At that exact moment Robin's form went limp. "R-Robin?" Wave repeated. He wasn't really expecting to get an answer, so he froze when Robin's lips suddenly parted in an 'O' form.

"It hurts," he whimpered "I'm failing. It's controlling."

"What do you mean?" Aqualad asked. He hovered around the acrobat, not sure what to do. Was it wrong that Robin wasn't stuttering or shivering anymore? He just lay there, limp.

"I can't stay!" Robin added to his string of words he would not stop muttering.

"Yes! Yes you can. Just keep talking. Umm..." he groped for something to ask the boy. It was hard when he knew barely anything about him. "Why were you avoiding me yesterday?" It could have been a trick of the light but Aqualad could've sworn he saw a faint smirk on Robin's lips.

"I thought you found me weak or something. I completely broke down in front of you. It was embarrassing and against everything I was trained to be. "

"You are such a...human, Robin. I could never think you weak. You have bested me in training too many times. Besides everything you told me only made me think of you as stronger. "

"Thank you Aqualad. And...I'm sorry." Robin's voice was down to a whisper now.

"Sorry for what?" He was interrupted by an agonized gasp from the boy. "Robin!" Robin's body went rigid for a few seconds before turning along the ground so that his feet smashed into Aqualad's chest. The dark-skinned boy let out a gasp as he fell to the ground. Robin didn't hesitate to jump up and deliver a kick to the atlantean's ribs.

"Robin! What are you- oof!" he was stopped by a kick to his jaw.

"As fun as this is to watch…boss wants you alive," the Chuckler's voice cut through the moment of confusion and pain better then a knife. "Robin stop." The command was followed by the reopening of the cage again. Aqualad was too smart to try and escape again, so he could only watch with faint surprise as Robin obeyed without a second glance. He moved stiffly and seemingly aimlessly to The Chuckler.

"What did you do?" Aqualad asked, stunned by the anger he heard in his own voice. Instead of being answered The Chuckler only got a loud explosion of laughter. Robin joined in, using his creepy cackle to add to the effect. Aqualad couldn't help but suppress a shudder as his younger brother disappeared into the shadow with The Chuckler.

* * *

><p>Maybe hours had passed, or minutes. Perhaps it was weeks or just days. No one knew. Kid Flash was leaning against the bars to his cage, trying to ignore the way the bone in his leg pressed against his skin. Artemis was pacing like a caged tiger, shooting Kid Flash unreadable glances every now and then. Mss. Martian and Superboy were both conscious and struggling against their bonds.<p>

"This is ridiculous," let out Artemis, glaring at them all.

"Huh?" Kid Flash asked, looking up. He had just been about to fall asleep. Pain and lack of food were getting the better of him.

"We're getting nowhere! We need a plan," she cried, throwing her hands in the air for emphasis.

"Ooh great idea. And what do you suggest? Disappearing through the walls?" Kid Flash snapped, his response coming out harsher then intended. She glared at him.

"Well since we can't escape then what if Ms. Martian tries to reach Aqualad and Robin?" she offered, turning to the alien.

"Hello Megan! Of course I will try," the Martian said, her voice sounding weak but still filled with her usual pep. She let her eyes glow as her mind weakly crawled through the air to find her teammates. At first she felt nothing but emptiness. But then it hit her. Like a slow trickle of water, he flowed to her mind. Surprise, confusion, and worry all rushed in steadily. His emotions were a waterfall: steady and purposeful. Aqualad! She moved on, trying to keep a hold of his mind as she searched for another. Soon she came to a mind that reminded her of a true bird. It pulled upward to the sky in a longing way and felt open and free. Slight interest pulled at her. It was strange to feel Robin so open. Normally his mind was blanketed to stop her from sensing anything she shouldn't. Intrigued she tried to dig deeper, if only to contact him, but her efforts were rewarded by a solid barrier. It hurt more than running into a brick wall. She let out a cry and her connections were lost.

"M'gann!" Superboy cried, looking up at her worriedly.

"I'm okay,"she soothed, then added darkly "But Robin isn't." A few moments of silence met that remark before it was broken by an explosion of questions.

What do you mean?"

"What's wrong?"

"Can we help?"

"What do we do?"

What about Aqualad?" Ms. Martian uncharacteristically scowled as she failed to break into their questions. Sighing she wormed her way into their minds, glad that the fiery torches were dimming enough for her to use her telepathy.

_ "Quiet, all of you," s_he demanded

_ "What do you mean? What's wrong with Bird?" _Kid Flash persisted

_ "I don't know. He has a barrier around his mind but it still feels more open. It's strange and not right."_

_ "What about Aqualad?" _Artemis broke in.

_ "He's fine but I don't think I'll be able to reach him again." _

_ "What! Why?" _Kid Flash asked. He didn't mean to be rude or anything but hope was drifting away from them like smoke from a fire. He saw no chance of escaping.

_ "He is too far away; I'm too weak because of the fire. And don't think like that. We will escape," _the telepath soothed.

_ "I think I have an idea," _Superboy offered suddenly.

* * *

><p>The Chuckler entered the room, giggling endlessly in a quiet and muffled manor. He was so pleased. Not only had he captured six heroes, even if they were kids, but he had also gone above and beyond by taking the next step with Robin. "<em>Boss is going to be so pleased," <em>he thought. Suddenly the man stopped, along with the laughing. Ms. Martian was hanging limp, not breathing. The fire torches were blazing way too hot and bigger than they were meant to. Superboy was struggling in vain against his kryptonite bonds and screaming something about not being able to hear her heart beat. Artemis and Kid Flash were staring in shock and horror at their dead teammate. The Chuckler let out a cry and ran over to the Martian.

"Boss said not to kill! He wanted to do that part! No! No! No!" he hissed desperately as he worked to get her out of her chains and away from the torches. As he unlocked the last one with his key the torches suddenly went dead, the fire nothing but a few embers and ashes. Before he had time to ponder this, a fist swung at his face. The Chuckler fell to the floor, unconscious.


	6. Chapter 6

Aqualad sat in the same position he had been for hours since Robin's sudden treachery. He leant on the bars of his cage with legs sprawled out in front of him on the ground, or more like the poles that lay on the ground. His position was incredibly uncomfortable. He sat there with poles digging into back and legs as his foot tapped a silver pole to create a constant chime that bounced off the walls. The pretty sound was good. It stopped him thinking of Robin: his little brother who was brainwashed (hopefully. Aqualad still wasn't exactly sure how that had happened but he couldn't imagine any other possibility) and injured. Plus the rest of his 'family' were somewhere around here, probably trapped too if not dead already. Okay so maybe the constant noise wasn't helping too much on the not thinking part. But the footsteps were helping to distract….wait! Footsteps? The loud thundering filled the room like gunshots. They were seemingly random and constant, like a group of people running. Was he finally going mad? Suddenly a beam of light swept across the floor, highlighting the dingy blackness and glinting off the silver bars like the sun would glint off of a knife in a horror movie.

"Aqualad!" Kid Flash's voice comes as his silhouette became visible from the doorway. Kaldur couldn't help but smile. His team had actually gotten free without Robin! Now that was a great accomplishment.

"Kid!" Aqualad greeted as he stood up carefully, poles digging into his bare feet.

"Aqualad! Are you okay?" This was Mrs. Martians voice, coming from her green figure that hovered in the air behind the speedster. They were both going over to Aqualad's cage with Superboy and Artemis running behind them. Artemis began to dig into the almost invisible lock with a sharp arrow (Although how she had managed to retrieve her bow and quiver would always be a mystery to Aqualad.)

"I am fine, but Robin…" He trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Yes! Where is Robin? What happened? His mind….it was so strange." Mrs. Martian babbled as she remained unaware of her companion's unease. If Aqualad was fine then Robin would be too, right?

"I don't know. I think he got brainwashed. It seems that this new villain…The Chuckler, injected Robin with something. It caused Robin pain and he grew weaker until he gave into it and attacked me." Aqualad informed them as the loose poles that worked as the door gave way.

"I bet that didn't help his earlier injuries." Kid Flash muttered. "And really, whose name is The Chuckler? That name is so stupid! Is he trying to copy the Joker or something, because there are already way too many of those!

"So not the time for that." Artemis snapped, hitting his arm. He winced and shot her an offended look, which she ignored.

"So, what now?" Asked Superboy as his brow came together. Aqualad opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by an over determined Kid Flash.

"We go find Robin, of course." He almost shouted.

"Kid, calm down. Of course we will rescue Robin but we need a plan." Aqualad soothed. Kid Flash opened his mouth to answer when a sudden cackling filled the room. All five of the teens jumped in the air.

"R-Robin?" Mrs. Martian asked as the never ending cackling continued. There was no denying it; the laughter was definitely Robin's. The Martian's question got no answer. Was it just their imaginations but were the shadows moving? Had the room become darker? Was the sound of the teammates breathing that loud before? Were they actually _afraid_ of _Robin_?

"Robin, it's us!" Kid Flash whispered into the darkness, his voice barely heard over the laughter. "This isn't funny Rob. Come out." Surprisingly Robin obeyed, jumping out of the darkness. The first thing that they noticed about him was that he was still badly injured. He moved awkwardly, favoring his left side due to broken ribs and a leg. Dark bruises covered his still too pale skin and his lips had a blue tinge to them. At least his forehead had stopped bleeding. The second thing they noticed was that his mask was gone. It had been replaced by large round blue eyes. They were a deep endless blue that put the sky and even the ocean to shame. They would have made him look so much younger and cute under any other circumstances. But now his pupils were dilated to an alarming size and they were unfocused as if he wasn't seeing anything. Even all that wouldn't have been so bad if his eyes would have just stayed still. But they didn't. They turned randomly in their sockets, crossing then rolling back into his head to come back down again to stare at the floor. They all bit back a cry of horror as Robin's cackling filled the room, imprinting a tightly drawn fake smile on his face.

"Robin" Aqualad said finally, taking a step forward. The younger boy flinched and tensed. Aqualad put his hands in the air as an act of calming him. "It's okay. It's me." Robin didn't react to the words in anyway. He just stood there: eyes rolling and body tense. "Please Robin, say something. It's me, Kaldur." Those words actually made the brainwashed acrobat react. A flicker of something moved across his face. Kid Flash caught it quickly ran over to his best friend in a flash. His hands gripped Robin's shoulders tightly and shook him none too gently as if he that would get rid of the toxins that attacked Robin's mind. Kid Flash's move was the wrong one. In a split second Robin had gripped the speedster's arms and bent them back. With his right leg he hit the yellow clad knee with enough force to shatter the already broken leg. Kid Flash let out a pain filled cry and fell to the floor. Robin, too, should have been in pain after outing all his weight on his own broken leg but aside from almost falling as it gave way he showed no sign of discomfort. Not good. Artemis was the first to react, pulling out an arrow and aiming it at the Boy Wonder's chest. As she let it fly he picked up his cackling again, which he had dropped once Aqualad had mentioned his surface name. He easily slipped out of the way of the arrow, almost falling on many occasions when he landed on his broken side. The arrow carried on, hitting the wall. As soon as the dirty black surface came in contact with the green sensor yellow clouds of smoke filled the air.

"Artemis!" Let out an annoyed Superboy, as Megan and the archer began coughing violently before falling to the floor, unconscious. Robin had only moved a few feet and had already taken out three of the five of them.

"Superboy-" Aqualad broke into his train of thought suddenly. But unfortunately that wasn't the only thing that had. The air was suddenly filled with chuckling. No, not the air. Superboy himself was filled with the sound. It was suffocating him, smashing into him painfully. It hurt so much. He couldn't remember when he fell down or when he finally gave into the darkness that welcomed him. The only thing he could remember was The Chuckler walking in with a bloody lip and black eye, giving Robin a syringe filled with amber liquid. Robin stared at it hungrily before injecting it into himself with shaky hands. Eyes widened as if in pain and the little bird's chest suddenly convulsed and shook a few times before he regained his composure.


	7. Chapter 7

Aqualad woke up to the sound of Artemis's voice spitting out as many cuss words as he knew and a great many he didn't. He could see Kid Flash's eyes widening in half admiration and half disgust.

"No idea someone could be all those things at once." The speedster murmured. Thankfully Artemis couldn't hear him since her cage and Wally's cage were separated by a kryptonite cage, incasing Superboy.

"You're awake." Mrs. Martian observed, letting relief show in her voice. She was kneeling next to the bars that were the barrier between her and the Atlantian. Both their cages had fiery torches blazing in the corners. Not enough to hurt them too badly, but enough to weaken them.

"Yes. Is anyone hurt?" Aqualad asked, nodding to the Martian.

"Kid Flash had a broken leg but I managed to set it right so he should be healed by now. Other than that everyone is fine." _Everyone except Robin_ Aqualad added silently. He sighed and let himself lean into the bars of his cage. _I failed him. I failed Robin. I failed the team. _

"It isn't your fault, Kaldur. It's no ones. You couldn't have stopped The Chuckler single handedly."

"You are not supposed to read our minds without permission." He reminded her

"I don't need to read your mind to know that you were thinking that."

"I was right there M'gann. Robin was so injured and weak, he couldn't fight. But I could and as soon as I felt pain I went down. Robin wouldn't have done that. He would have fought. If it had been me that was injured-"

"Then he would be next to me saying exactly the same thing as you or in full health and brainwashed." M'gann finished, crossing her arms. "You couldn't have done anything."

"I could have done everything. I am the leader, yet I failed to protect our youngest teammate." Aqualad shook his head. "I saw him when he was not in hero form. Unlike the others, he stays Robin even without his mask and cape. He pretends for us. We- I, never saw him as anyone but Robin until a few days ago." Aqualad shook his head. He knew he shouldn't be telling anyone this but for some reason he felt he should express this to M'gann. "He was so human, so young, so lost, so hurt. So broken." Mrs. Martian had no answer for that. So the whole team (Artemis had stopped cussing) sat in silence and waited.

* * *

><p>25 hours had gone by. 25 hours filled with guilty silence, wasted self-pity, and telepathic encouragement. A few chosen words were exchanged out loud but the way they echoed around the dim room felt wrong. It was like someone was hiding in the darkness and mocking them to the brink of insanity. So instead they stuck with telepathy on the rare moments they wanted to talk. But mostly no one ever did. So when the silence was finally broken the noise hurt their heads and almost burst their eardrums. It bounced around the room and copied every syllable. It was made 100 times worse when the speaker's identity became acknowledged.<p>

"Hello Kiddies! Miss me? Sorry I couldn't come to play but I was giving Boy Blunder a little quality time. But Uncle Jay is here now." And Aqualad thought Artemis's cussing had been bad before. "Now, now little Blondie watch your mouth. I know you had to wait a while but really there's no excuse to be rude. Maybe I should teach you some manners….nah I'm just going to make you watch your little birdie die."

A gasp of horror broke into the air followed by Kid Flash's yell of "What?!"

"Oh right I forgot I was going to spend some time with you all first. Thanks for reminding me Flash Boy." As they talked Robin and The Chuckler had come in. Robin was covered in cuts and bruises. He was still limping but it was more pronounced and more ribs had definitely been broken. The worse though was actually not an injury at all. It was his blue eyes with dilated pupils. They shone through the darkness and seemed to belong to a dead man. No one could look away from these new eyes on their little brother. Recognition tugged in the back of Artemis's mind, but she ignored it for now.

"Kid Flash" Wally corrected, growling. M'gann let Joker's voice fade to the background as she instructed Robin and The Chuckler to get his toys. A few strings of words reached her ears, telling her that the Joker was going to keep us alive and conscious so that they could tell Batman that Robin (Or The Cackler, as Joker as had renamed him.) was dead. It seemed a little farfetched to the Mrs. Martian. How could they tell Batman if they were too injured to escape? And she was sure that Batman could figure out Robin was dead without being told by the team. But that didn't matter right now. What mattered was getting into Robin's mind. She snaked forward, glad that the torches weren't too bad. She was strong enough to make contact with him for a few minutes if she wasn't thrown out like last time. Just as before his mind felt strange, more open yet surrounded by a wall. She didn't let it distract her this time. Instead she pushed against the wall. But it was so solid and so hot. Gosh was his mind on fire or something? The head was intense. It blazed and shot at her, two times worse than the candles around her cage. She let out a silent scream and pulled away from his mind. As she did her mind half fell and half flew into The Chuckler's mind. And to her amazement, his mind was almost the same as Robins. It felt open but not in the same way as a bird. His mind was more content and comfortable. It was stable and grounded. A huge barrier surrounded it, blazing and spitting fire. Again she was thrown out of the mind she was invading but this time she had new information.

_"The Chuckler has been brainwashed, the same as Robin!" _she told the team with her telepathy. After a time of mental eye raisings, some _"Are you sure?" _and a sarcastic sigh of_ "Of course he is!"_Aqualad finally got the team to settle down and start to formulate a plan as they watched the Joker and his two zombies set up some toys.


	8. Chapter 8

Aqualad visibly paled as Chuckler's hands closed around Kid Flash's wrist. Joker stood behind him, a keen twisted grin stretched on his face. The madman radiated anticipation as he played with a small hammer. Aqualad wanted to scream at Chuckler to release his friend like the rest of his team but for some reason he couldn't find his voice. All he could do was watch as Kid Flash squirmed uselessly in the hands of his captor. His emerald green eyes were filled with fear as he was thrown to the floor. The Chuckler refused to let go of him so that he couldn't run away. The Joker started talking about pain and what not. _He is in a very talkative mood today. _

Suddenly a small movement caught Aqualad's eye. His head whipped around to face Robin. The Boy Wonder was shifting uncomfortably, his once dead eyes showing flickers of recognition and dread. Was he awakening? Was the drug already loosing effect?

"Robin?" Aqualad whispered, actually glad his friend's cries and pleads were blocking his voice from The Joker. Robin blinked and his head twitched to the Aqualad but he still refused to acknowledge him. "Cackler" Aqualad tried again, refusing the urge to roll his eyes. Robin turned to Aqualad this time, looking a little afraid and confused.

"I am not allowed to speak to prisoners. Master forbids it." He informed Aqualad, fingering a few of his bruises.

"What if you just listen? Would that be okay? He will not notice anyway." Aqualad nodded to Joker who was too enthralled with his rant and the promise of smashing his hammer into Kid Flash to notice anything else. Robin hesitated but nodded. Aqualad smiled comfortingly at him, hoping to awaken some memories or feelings inside the brainwashed boy.

"You have to listen to me. Robin, you are a hero, you are part of this team. The Joker is not your master. Batman is your mentor. The Joker has brainwashed you. Please Robin, we need our little brother back. I need you. I am so sorry this is my entire fault. Please, you have to remember! Please believe me."

Aqualad looked up at Robin hopefully after his whispered rant. The whole time the acrobat had given the leader a blank stare. A few times Aqualad thought he saw recognition and confusion burn in his eyes but it had gone out like a weak flame almost at once. After a few moments he walked over to Aqualad's cage. Chills ran up his spine as Robin's big blue eyes peered in through the bars, unblinking. He was almost scared of him.

"I don't remember. But I believe you." He whispered. The next cage over M'gann felt Robin's mind wall weaken dramatically and smiled slightly.

A loud scream interrupted their short lived happiness and relief. Kid Flash was curled up in a ball, hands still held by The Chuckler. His right leg was bleeding heavily and splintered bone could be seen under destroyed flesh and skin. The hammer, in Joker's hands, was covered in sticky red blood.

"KF!" Robin cried, eyes widening them blinking. A look of confusion passed through Robin, Kid Flash, and Joker. Luckily Robin got over it the fastest; he flipped through the air, somehow inhumanly ignoring his broken ribs and leg. (Maybe they had the brainwashing drugs to thank for that….) Robin landed right beside Joker and tried to deliver a kick to his temple. Sadly his left broken leg crumpled under the sudden weight and instead he kicked the clown's stomach. There was still enough force for the Joker to double over as he tried to regain his breath. Robin used that time to throw some of his exploding disks at the cages. They easily blew off some of the silver bars and made holes large enough for the four enclosed teens to escape through. The Joker had recovered but had dropped his hammer. Instead he settled for kicking Robin in the back. Robin flipped over his leg but crumpled to the ground as his left leg came down awkwardly. Kid Flash had managed to get up and was awkwardly fighting Chuckler with help from Artemis and Mrs. Martian. They all attempted not to hurt him too badly, since he was now considered an innocent, brainwashed, civilian.

Superboy was charging at The Joker. Anger and fury were writted on his face as clear as day. Aqualad was close behind him, a sort of annoyed calm surrounding the Atlantian. A single thought echoed in both their minds. _He is going to pay for hurting my little brother!_

The Joker kicked Robin in the ribs and he let out a small moan. As the brainwashing drugs wore off so did the oblivion to pain. The Joker smiled. He could fix that, he could still win! Pulling out a syringe filled with thick green liquid. Pushing the point into Robin's paled skin he pressed down as hard as he could. He knew he was running out of time as the boy's two teammates neared, but that was okay. All he needed was to hear that cry of pain escape Boy Blunder's lips and that was good enough. Even better, was the liquid slipping into the little birdies veins. Now it was getting funny. The joke was set up.

"Keep away from him" Superboy screamed as he finally came into punching distance. He let his fists swing into the Joker's side and sent him flying. The madman crumpled into a heap on the floor after he slid down from hitting the wall. Superboy hoped he had hurt him, he hoped he had killed him. Aqualad refused to aknowledge the murderous look Superboy had donned and instead cradled Robin like an infant as the acrobat gasped for air through the pain and his chest heaved. The tell-tale syringe that was shattered on the floor struck fear into the leader' heart.

"No, No, No I wont have any of that" The Joker croaked, spitting out blood. Superboy ignored him and pinned him to the wall.

"What did you do to Robin?" the Kryptonian screamed.

"You mean when I broke his ribs and leg with my hammer? Or when I injected him with that stuff Cadmus gave me? Or when I instructed Chuckler to brainwash Boy Blunder?" Superboy let out another war cry and raised a fist as if to smash whatever brains Joker had left. But Joker, almost lazily, brought up a hand to reveal a small red button incased in a clear box filled with wires and lights. For some reason that stopped the clone almost instantly.

"If your team carries on fighting me or Chuckler then I will press this button.

"What will it do?"

"You want to find out?"

"IT DOES NOTHING!" Superboy screamed, agony and revenge filled him. At that moment Robin convulsed in Aqualad's arms violently, lids drifting down to cover blue orbs. Superboy let his fist slam into the Joker's temple with enough force to knock him out, if he was lucky and strong. As he did many things happened at once.

The Chuckler, who was just about to deliver a kick to a still heavily bleeding Kid Flash, let out an ear piercing scream. Eyes rolling to the back of his head, he collapsed with blood oozing out of his mouth. A few gurgles, muffled noises and yelps of pain could be heard before he twitched and went still.

Robin's wall finally collased. But that wall had been holding everything else up. His mind was suddenly falling apart and breaking at the seams. He and Mrs. Martian let out more screams before both collapsed, unconscious.

The Joker, who was, unfortunately, both strong and lucky, fell unconscious with his finger pressing down the red button.

Silence filled the room. Time froze. Kid Flash was laying on the floor, gasping for lost breath and trying to stop the bleeding. His leg was already healing so it would need to be rebroken. His wounds were not fatal though. Artemis was trying to wake Mrs. Martian and Aqualad was doing the same with Robin. Both were lacking success. Superboy just stood with the unconscious Joker in his hands, stareing at the corpse if the Chuckler. His blue eyes flickered to the red button, to the dead body, to the button. What seemed like hours passed, although in reality it had been minuets.

"S-Superboy, find out communicators?" Aqualad asked finally, remembering their gadgets that The Chuckler had taken away from them. The exhausted Atlantian felt himself slip into a hazy stupor as his eyes refused to leave the bruised and battered unconscious Robin. He didn't react when Superboy nodded and let the unconscious vilian drop to the floor, nor did he even blink when Mrs. Martian woke up and let out a small yelp at the sight of The Chuckler's dead body. He didn't even look up when his king's hand touched his sholder or when Batman attempted to pull Robin out of the leader's death grip. All he could hear was the labored breathing and weakening pulse of his little brother.

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><p><strong>So what do you think? I am going to write a sequel to this. You will soon find out what happens to Robin! This story isn't as good as I wanted it to be and I know it seems rushed and random. I promise that my next one definitely will be better. REVIEW PLEASE! I LOVE REVIEWS! THE MORE REVIEWS THEN THE SOONER I WILL POST THE SEQUEL!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Note: The sequel to this story is called Broken Bird. Go check it out :D And remember to review.**

**Preview: **It had been a week since the Team had been rescued from the Joker. A funeral for the Chucker, or Harry Jensen as his name had been before he had gone missing a month prior to the mission, had been held four days after. Robin had been treated for injuries and had attended the funeral in a wheel chair, much to his embarrassment and annoyance. Roy had attended too. Even if he didn't admit it Wally and Dick knew that he had felt guilty about not being there for his little brother. That was his way of making it up to them, despite the fact that there was nothing to make up. Robin didn't wear his glasses anymore. Everyone knew who he was after Artemis had suddenly figured it out after a day on pondering it. She had shouted it out at the top of her lungs in Robin's hospital room. But everyone still called him Robin out of habit. Everyone else's injuries had healed within two days after the mission. Everyone was fine now and only one problem still remained unsolved with; what had the Joker injected into Robin? All the tests he had been through had provided little to no answers. He seemed fine so soon it was pushed into the back of everyone's minds. That was a big mistake.


End file.
